Robert Peate started piano lessons at the age of seven and was involved in a diverse range of music-making throughout his youth. He completed his Bachelor's degree in Composition at Birmingham Conservatoire with Richard Causton and Edwin Roxburgh, and his Master's and PhD at the Academy under Simon Bainbridge.
During his time at the Academy, Peate's work was awarded prizes including the 2011 Eric Coates Prize, the 2012 Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize and the 2016 Priaulx Rainier Prize. On completing his MMus with distinction, he was awarded a DipRAM, the Charles Lucas Memorial Prize for best composition and the Edwin Samuel Dove Prize for special merit during studentship. Robert also received valuable tuition from Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Oliver Knussen and Christopher Austin during his studies, and while attending the Britten-Pears contemporary music course at Aldeburgh in 2013.
Described as an ‘ear-tingling […] genuine music’ (Geoff Brown, The Times), ‘incident-packed, capricious and emotional’ (Colin Anderson, Classical Source), and creating ‘work of substance and resonance’ (Paul Conway, Musical Opinion), Peate’s work has been performed across the UK and abroad by a wide range of professional, amateur and young musicians, programmed and commissioned by major festivals, and broadcast on BBC Radio 3.